Chapter Eleven

The next morning Ed and Daria went on separate trains. The ride back to Rush Valley took a few hours and by the time he arrived, Winry was at the train station to pick him up. During their walk back home, he told her everything that had been revealed to him and Daria.

"Huh, so their fathers knew each other. I mean, I already expected a relative of Anna's stole those pages, but it's still crazy all of this happened."

"Tell me about it!" Running through his fingers through his hair, Ed felt overwhelmed over what occurred the last several days. He wondered if there would be some room to finally breathe. "Anna still wants the documents, so we're not safe from her yet."

A disappointed sigh escaped from Winry. "There's no way to know when that'll happen?"

That was what Ed was afraid of. A warning had been made clear, but it was too furtive. The notes could be swiped right under their noses. He shook his head and clenched his hand.

"Only thing to do is be aware of anything unusual. I told Daria that yesterday, too." Whether they were going to be successful on that, he wasn't sure.

Anna left Dublith on a train for the next town north. She wanted to speak with one particular person that lived there.

His house was situated in a quiet neighborhood, just a short walk from the hotel Anna was staying at. It had been a while since she last visited him. She hoped he remembered her. She knocked on the door and waited until he opened it, a huge grin stretching across his face.

"Why, Anna! I didn't expect you to drop by."

"It's great to see you too, Geoffrey. May I come in?"

Geoffrey nodded and let her step inside, closing the door behind them. He guided her to the living room and Anna sat on one of the sofas. She settled her hands on her lap and made a hasty glance at the lamp on the table that lit up the room like early morning sun.

"Would you like some tea?" he asked.

Smiling, Anna said, "No thank you."

Geoffrey took a seat on the other sofa, directly facing her. "So, what brings you here?"

"There is something that I want and you're the only person I know that can get it for me. But first, there are some things you need to know."

A curious look drew upon his face. "Go on."

Anna explained the full story. She told him how Ermes Russo's journal pages were stolen from her father and that she had acquired them, about her trip to Aerugo the famous former Fullmetal Alchemist and his family and finding the infamous documents of Ettero Gatti in a cave, and how she had been pretending to help them throughout the journey. The whole time Geoffrey listened intently.

"Originally I was about to wait until Edward finished solving the code," she said, finishing up her accounts, "but his wife found the pages and showed it to everyone. I then ran away."

Crossing his arms, Geoffrey took a moment to gather everything he just heard. "That's quite a tale there. I still can't believe you traveled with Edward Elric for a while."

"Me neither. He's not one to be fooled easily."

The smile on Geoffrey's face disappeared when he said, "I take it you want me to use my alchemy and steal the notes from him."

He was the first alchemist Anna had met in one of her excavations and helped her a lot. They used to keep in contact often until she got busy with traveling to Drachma and Creta. It was given he would be upset by that request after they hadn't spoken to each other in a while.

"Yes, that's what I'm asking ."

As she waited for his answer, Anna could tell he had mixed emotions over that offer. Her heart raced anxiously, the lingering silence unbearable.

"I'm not sure if I can. You backstabbed everyone!" He rose from his seat, made a few furious steps, and had his back facing Anna.

Anna's stomach jumped. The one chance of getting the notes was slipping away from her. She needed to convince him to do this.

"Those documents are very valuable. It'll make the both of us rich."

That caused Geoffrey to twist around and arched an eyebrow at her. "Both…of us?"

Anna stopped herself from chuckling. She got off from the sofa and approached in front of him. Her fingers slid across Geoffrey's cheek. He let out a shuddered breath.

"If you get the notes for me, I promise you'll have that fortune also. It'll be rude of me not to." She trailed her fingers down Geoffrey's chest and then jerked his belt buckle. "I'll even let you share my bed with me."

"That does sound tempting," Geoffrey said and considered a moment, drawing in another breath. "All right, I'll do it."

"Thank you." To show her appreciation, she kissed him on his cheeks. "Here's the address to where Edward lives now," she said and handed him a folded paper from the pocket of her pants. "I also wrote down the inn and room number I'm staying at, so meet me there after you get the notes."

Geoffrey unfolded the paper to read it. He then said, "I can take the next train to Rush Valley and come back tomorrow."

"I'm fine with that. I'll see you later, then."

After turning around, she opened the door and left the house. It took a bit of coaxing, but the deal was done. Very soon, those notes would reach her hands.

xxx

When Winry picked up Ed at the train station, she was relieved that he returned unharmed. However, she hated that Anna was still a threat to them and that they needed to be on constant watch. She wasn't sure how long they had to keep at it.

She went to bed early with Ed and collapsed in a deep slumber, but Winry eventually woke up to use the bathroom. She went back to bed, but wasn't able to fall back asleep yet. Some minutes passed and she heard noises, like someone climbing up the stairs. That made her stomach drop as she was sure Joseph and the children were sleeping.

"Ed! Ed, wake up!" she whispered, shaking him. A few seconds passed until he stirred.

"Is something the matter?" he asked as he sat up, his eyes still not fully open.

"I heard footsteps coming up the stairs. I think someone broke into our house."

A stunned expression crossed Ed's face. He immediately climbed out of bed and went to the closet to snatch a t-shirt, putting it on.

"You wait here while I go check it out."

"What if you get hurt? I'm not letting you go alone."

Ed gave Winry's concern some thought. She understood he wanted her safe, but she never like being left behind.

"Fine, but stay close with me." He opened the door and stepped out of the room. Before leaving, Winry grabbed her wrench from under the bed just in case she needed it.

When she reached Ed, he motioned for her to be quiet and they put their backs against the wall. Winry heard a rustling of papers coming from Ed's study. Locking her gaze at Ed, she had an idea what he was thinking.

"They're looking for the notes," he whispered.

"You don't think they were been sent by…" She couldn't bring herself to say Anna's name, yet she knew that was the case.

"Yes, I think so. Shit."

They took slow, cautious steps toward the room. Winry's heart raced, her nervousness growing more by the second. The pair soon stopped next to the study, which was closed. Ed clutched onto the knob, waiting a moment, and turned it to open the door. She made a step forward to see a man tucking an old journal and some papers under his armpit. He froze the instant he was caught.

"Who are you?" Ed asked, sneering at him.

The intruder responded by showing them a tattooed hand and Winry recognized the design to be alchemic runes.

"Winry, watch out!"

A gust of wind blasted them, sending the two to crash onto the wall and hit the floor. Winry gritted her teeth, feeling pain shoot through her sides and shoulder. While still lying down, she heard the sounds of shattered glass and a loud thump on the ground. The intruder's getting away!, she thought frantically. That motivated her to get up even though she was sore. After she stood up straight, she caught Ed already in front of the broken window and staring down outside. She walked up behind him.

"Can we catch him?" Winry asked.

"No. It's too dark to do that," Ed said, clasping his hands into a fist. "We need to report this to the military, but likely Anna will have the notes before they could act."

Winry lowered her head in disappointment. She too believed that would be the case. This was worse than when they weren't able to find Anna after she had ran away. She was pulled from her thoughts when she heard footsteps coming. She turned around to see Joseph and the children looking at her and Ed in confusion.

"Did something happen, Miss Winry?" her apprentice asked.

"Someone broke into our house and stole the documents," she said.

"How about Dad's notes while he tried to solve the code?" Henry pointed out.

Ed's face fell and he rushed to his desk. Winry and everyone else watched as he searched through the mess of papers scattered around. Unable to find what he wanted, he slammed his fist onto the desk.

"He got those too."

When everyone grew silent, Winry glanced around to see the children hung their heads down while Joseph turned his head, as if unsure what to say. It was very late and she didn't want them to linger on any longer.

"Joseph, can you take the kids back to bed?"

"Yes, of course." He faced the children and said, "All right, let's go now."

Joseph ushered the kids out, leaving Winry and Ed alone. Winry stared at the broken window—that would have to be replaced in the morning. Besides reporting it to the military, she was lost as to what course of action they should take.

"Have any idea what we should do next?"

Ed went to sit down on his chair and rested his elbow on the desk. He dropped his head onto his hands, deep in thought. After a moment, he flashed a grin.

"Remember a while back when Mustang invited us to his aunt's new bar?"

Startled, Winry looked at him with wide eyes. She was surprised he remembered one of Fuhrer Mustang's relatives.

"Madame Christmas? Yes, I remember her." Realization suddenly hit her as to why he asked that. "Are you considering asking for her help?"

"The Madame should be able to find out where Anna lives. I'll go to her home and get the notes."

Already she found a flaw in Ed's plan. "What if she doesn't come back to her home and runs away?"

"I'm already aware of that possibility, but that's our best shot."

Winry was still worried this wouldn't work, but knew they needed to do something at least. She sighed.

"I guess you're right. You can call Madame Christmas after we talk with the army and get some rest."

xxx

When Geoffrey called Anna in the morning to tell her he got the notes and would arrive at her hotel very soon, she was more than thrilled. She knew he would get the job done.

He didn't visit her until close to lunchtime. As soon as Anna heard the knock, she immediately opened it and was greeted with the sight of him holding a leather bag. She smirked and let him in.

"I take it you were able to get the documents without much trouble?" she asked, closing the door behind them.

"Edward and his wife caught me in the act, but I managed to get away by using my alchemy."

Anna drew out a heavy sigh. She hoped he would get away without them seeing him but that didn't happen. Then again, they would figure out she had send someone to break into their house.

"Well, at least you got what I asked for." An anticipated smile tugged onto Anna's lips as she was eager to see the notes now. "Show me the journal."

Geoffrey returned the smile back and made a few steps toward the table. He set the documents down after pulling them out from the bag.

"I also have some of Edward's notes," he said while taking out several more papers to show her. "I got a chance to read through what he wrote and apparently the journal has something to do with transmuting carbon into diamonds."

Anna approached the table and studied one of Ed's notes. Even though it was full of formulas and annotations she didn't fully understand, she was glad Geoffrey brought her these. It was fascinating to have a glimpse of how Edward Elric's mind worked.

So the main ingredient was carbon. She already knew the documents had something to do with that valuable gem, and now she found the missing piece of the formula. Yes, this was what she wanted.

"This is more than enough." Facing him, she offered Geoffrey a pleased smile.

"Will you be going back to North City later today?"

She didn't respond immediately. Anna put the paper down and grabbed Ettero's journal, flipping through the pages. She now possessed one of the most elusive alchemy notes being sought out. Her chest tightened upon that realization. She pondered about whether to tell him or not her true intentions with the documents, only to then decide he deserved to know most of it.

"I will, yes. I'll then get ready to go to Drachma."

A shocked expression crossed Geoffrey's face. "How come?"

"These notes will be very useful for that country. That's why I went to Aerugo in the hopes of finding them."

"I see. Will you still give me some of the fortune? And the sex, also?"

"Of course. I'll need some help getting ready, so I want you to come with me to North City. "

Geoffrey considered her request a moment. "It's a bit sudden, but all right I'm join you. Let me pack some things first."

"The next train should leave around four today. You have some time."

"I can manage that," Geoffrey said and nodded. After he left the room, Anna immediately began packing herself.

So far everything turned into her favor thanks to Geoffrey. She was certain Ed wouldn't be able to catch her before she crossed Drachma.

xxx

Most of the day, Chris Mustang had the bar to herself, the girls not scheduled to come to work for another hour. Besides keeping the place clean, she had contacted her clients to follow them up on any in-progress assignments. The information gathering business was still going strong after all these years and she hoped to keep it that way even after she retired.

While she was wiping a glass, the telephone rang. She set the rag and glass down on the counter and picked up the receiver.

"This is The Red Daisies, Madame Christmas speaking."

"Hello, Madame, this is Edward Elric. I used to work under Mustang."

Smirking, Chris was pleasantly surprised one of Roy's former men wanted her help. Whatever he wanted should be interesting.

"Ah yes, I remember. So what can I do for you, hun?"

"I actually have a request for you. Last night someone broke into my house and stole something that belonged to me."

Chris's eyes flew wide. Well, she hadn't expected something like a break-in to happen to Ed.

"Let me guess, alchemy notes?"

"Yes. I actually know who had sent in the intruder and I was wondering if you can find out that person's home address? I'm asking because I plan to get my notes back from her."

Chris couldn't say she fully approved of Ed's plan, but she wasn't going to stop him. She wanted to know, though, how he figured out who was responsible for all of this.

"Any particular reason why you're sure that person was behind this?"

"It's a long story, but my family and I had met her during a vacation and she made it clear she wanted those documents."

So it's a woman, then. She took a moment to ponder over Ed's request. It seemed he already figured out this person's motives, and it must be serious if she had sent someone else to steal something from him. No wonder he wanted her help.

"All right, I'll see what I can do." She grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. "What's her name?" she asked.

"Anna Dabney. If it helps, she lives in North City and what she's after are diamonds."

Chris scribbled the name, city, and the phrase seeks diamonds on paper. "North City, huh? I have a few girls staying there. I'm sure they'll be able to help out."

"Thank you, I appreciate it."

"Not a problem, hun. I'll call you if I hear anything from them."

She put the receiver down and sighed. Her eyes fell on the note she had written seconds earlier. Chris would get started right away on calling the girls in North City and let them know their assignment. She took her small phonebook out from under the bar, flipped through the pages, and began dialing.